She knows.
Realization slams through me, seeing her standing between them in the middle of the room.
Fuck. Keely knows everything. The bastard told her.
“You can’t listen to him.” I take a step towards her. Keely flinches back. “I can explain.”
“Explain what?” Keely blinks, tears in her eyes. “Is it true? Are you this seducer guy?”
How the hell can I get out of this one? “It’s not like that,” I try to argue, needing her to understand, but Keely shakes her head.
“Answer me!” she cries, her voice breaking. “Did he hire you to fuck me?”
I steel myself. She deserves the truth now.
“Yes.”
Keely gasps, reeling back. I can see the heartache on her face, and damn, it tears right through my chest.
“But I broke the contract before we slept together,” I tell her, my voice rising. “I gave him his money back.”
Brent stands back, holding his hands up to say, ‘keep me out of it.’ He’s watching like we’re a fucking spectator sport, but I only care about Keely. I take another step towards her, pleading. “Please, baby, let’s just go talk it out.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it.” Keely isn’t listening. She turns away. “Of course you didn’t want to be with me, you were just doing your job. God, you must have thought I was such a fool. Why else would a guy like you want me?”
“I wanted you!” I growl, clenching my fists. “That’s why I told him to fuck off. It wasn’t just a job to me, you’re more than that.”
“I trusted you,” Keely tells me, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t believe I trusted you!”
“And I told you not to,” I remind her, hating this guilt that squeezes tight around my chest. “I said you should stay the fuck away. I tried to break it off, but you came to me, remember. You’re the one who dragged me back in!”
“So this is my fault?” Keely stares at me, eyes wide with pain. Fuck, I can’t bear that she’s hurting like this, and it’s all because of me.
“No, that’s not it.” I stumble. Why the fuck can’t I find the right words? “I’m just saying I tried to do the right thing.”
Keely shakes her head, trying to collect herself. “Is this about your father?” she whispers.
What the hell?
I freeze. Keely looks at me, her face changing to disgust. “So that’s true too. Jesus, Vaughn, is anything you’ve told me real? Or is everything about you a lie?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I warn her, shooting a look at Brent.
“I know that I’ve told you everything,” Keely shoots back fiercely. “I know that I believed the best in you, despite everything. But it was all just a game to you, wasn’t it? A job, a way to get what you wanted, no matter who got hurt!”
I hang my head. She’s right. I’ve been lying to her, using her. “If you just give me a chance to explain,” I try, but her expression hardens.
“I’m all out of chances. We’re done.” She beckons to the guard, who enters with another two guys. “Please remove Mr. Vaughn from the premises, he’s not welcome here anymore.”
They step forwards, grabbing my arms. “Get your fucking hands off me!” I curse, struggling. “Keely!”
She turns her back on me.
“Fuck! Keely, you can’t trust him!” I yell, as the guards drag me out. I try to get free, but it’s three on one, and these guys are built like fucking mack trucks. Panic rises. She has to understand. “This was all a set-up! He’s trying to hurt you!”
“Too late.” Keely looks at me sadly. “You’re the one who took care of that.”
The look on her face is like a knife through my heart. I sag, guilty as fuck, and the guard uses the chance to slam his elbow into me. They pull me from the room, hustling me to a side exit and throwing me out on the sidewalk.
“I’d take the hint,” one of them laughs. “The lady doesn’t want you.”
I see red. With a roar, I lunge at him, slamming my head into his stomach. He cries out in surprise, and then his buddies are on me, kicking and punching in a rain of brutal blows.
My jaw cracks. My ribs explode in pain, and I fall back. Still I keep swinging. I need to hit something. I deserve to hurt.
“Fuck, are you trying to get yourself killed?” The guard finally pushes me away. I fall to my knees, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the asphalt. “Let it go, buddy. No one’s worth this shit.”
They head inside. The door slams shut.
He’s wrong. She’s worth it.
I slump to the ground defeated. My whole body hurts like hell, but it’s nothing compared to the pain in my chest. I remember Keely’s look of betrayal when she realized the truth: that I’m a lying sack of shit who played her from the start.
I did this to her. I let her down.
But I can’t lose her, not now I know how much she means to me. Fuck Ashcroft and my quest for revenge. Fuck Brent and whatever mind games he’s playing. Only one thing matters in the world to me:
Keely.
I’m going to make it right somehow.